Amazon Drivers Strike Over Labor Violations, Demand Union RecognitionAmazon Drivers Strike Over Labor Violations, Demand Union Recognition In Skokie, Illinois, over 100 Amazon drivers went on strike last month, alleging violations of federal labor laws. The drivers, represented by Teamsters Local 705, are demanding Amazon recognize their union and negotiate a contract. Amazon is accused of retaliating against organizing attempts by terminating the contract with the contractor employing the drivers, Four Star Express Delivery. The drivers allege unfair labor practices, including firing workers for union organizing and monitoring union activity. In response, a bipartisan group of Illinois Congress members have sent a letter to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, demanding the company abandon union-busting tactics. The letter cites multiple instances of alleged violations of the National Labor Relations Act. The strike follows other labor actions by Amazon workers across the country, including a successful unionization vote at an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island, New York. Drivers at Skokie are demanding better wages, guaranteed work hours, and improved benefits. Amazon has responded by stating that the protest was primarily attended by third-party organizers and individuals not employed by the company. However, a layoff letter filed with state regulators indicates that Four Star Express Delivery closed its business and laid off 104 employees after a majority of workers signed union cards. Despite Amazon’s claims, the Teamsters Union and the Illinois Congress members have condemned the company’s actions and vowed to support the striking drivers. The ongoing labor dispute highlights the growing tension between Amazon and its workforce over unionization and fair labor practices.
SKOKIE, IL — After Amazon drivers in Skokie went on strike last month over alleged violations of federal labor laws, more than a dozen members of Illinois’ congressional delegation have demanded that the company abandon union-busting tactics.
A group of 104 drivers, known as Teamsters Local 705, has called on Amazon to recognize the union and negotiate a contract.
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The drivers are employed by contractor Four Star Express Delivery and allege that Amazon retaliated against their organizing attempts by terminating the contract with the contractor.
“Every Amazon driver knows who our real employer is,” striking driver Luke Cianciotto said in a statement.
“We wear their uniforms and drive their trucks. They decide whether we can be hired or fired,” Cianciotto said. “We make their profit, and we’ve formed a union with the Teamsters for our fair share.”
Workers showed up at Amazon’s DIL7 facility in Skokie with documentation they said showed the majority were in favor of unionizing, according to Teamsters video footage.
“No, we don’t accept that,” says one of the managers.
Organizers demanded $30 an hour, 40 hours of guaranteed work and better benefits. Currently, they are paid about $20 an hour, are rarely scheduled for a full workweek and have expensive and poor health insurance, the Teamsters say.
“The negative emotions that Amazon plays on, fear, isolation, manipulation,” an organizer tells striking workers in the video, “we stand up there with pride, dignity and honor.”
On Tuesday, U.S. Reps. Jan Schakowsky, Chuy Garcia and Nikki Budzinski sent a letter to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy about reports of harassment and retaliation against Skokie workers. They were joined by 10 other members of Congress — all House Democrats from Illinois except Brad Schneider.
Amazon is accused of, among other things, unfair labor practices. The company is said to have fired workers for organizing, monitored union activity, put a hiring freeze in response to unionization efforts, suppressed pro-union speech on forums, changed employment practices to restrict union activity, and attempted to permanently close the facility in response to union organizing, the letter said.
This week’s letter from most Democrats in Illinois Congress follows another oversight letter sent to Amazon last month by a bipartisan group of senators, a follow-up to another letter in February.
According to the letter, the Senate has not received a “serious response,” and Amazon’s responses have been described as “inadequate” thus far.
The letter from Schakowsky, Garcia and Budzinski noted that this is not the first time the world’s largest e-commerce company has been accused of violating the 1935 Labor Act, which still applies to union activity in the United States.
“Amazon has been accused of several serious violations of the National Labor Relations Act in recent years, and as you know, an NLRB administrative law judge recently ruled that you violated federal labor law with your public comments about increased unionization efforts by Amazon workers and advised you not to threaten your workers with similar comments in the future,” the report said. “Consistent with that ruling and advice, Amazon was ordered to inform workers at its facilities that the NLRB has determined that it violated federal labor law.”
Members of Congress asked Amazon to respond by July 15.
“As members of the Illinois congressional delegation, we are committed to ensuring that Amazon respects the rights of all of its workers, including its DSP drivers in Skokie,” the representatives said. “We ask for your commitment to refrain from threats of intimidation and retaliation when DSP drivers exercise their right to unionize and, if they choose, bargain collectively to negotiate in good faith to secure improvements in their wages and working conditions.”
An Amazon spokesperson issued a statement to reporters following last week’s labor action.
“This protest was initiated and attended by primarily third-party organizers and individuals not employed by Amazon — and has no impact on our operations or ability to deliver for customers,” it said. “Four Star Express Delivery is an independent company that voluntarily closed its business on May 30 and no longer delivers for Amazon.”
According to the layoff letter filed with state trade regulators, Four Star Express Delivery LLC, with a registered address at Amazon’s 3639 Howard St. facility in Skokie, announced it would lay off 104 employees on June 25 after giving the company two weeks’ notice.
The reason given: “contract lost.”
Owner Jerry Maros told workers the company lost its “most important customer” in the first week of June in an “unforeseeable” development after the majority of workers signed union cards, Labor Notes reported.
Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said Amazon responded to workers exercising their right to organize with “bullying and lawbreaking” and that the company’s Delivery Service Program (DSP) was exploitative.
“But Amazon drivers in Skokie refuse to be intimidated by the white-collar criminals who run this company,” O’Brien said. “The Teamsters Union appreciates the support of elected officials who are showing real backbone against Corporate America by standing with these brave workers.”
According to the union, other Amazon drivers, who work with the Teamsters, have demonstrated at more than 30 Amazon warehouses in an ongoing strike against unfair labor practices.
And last month, Amazon warehouse workers at the JFK8 facility in Staten Island, New York, voted to join the Teamsters by more than 98 percent of the vote. That means more than 5,500 workers there will become members of the newly formed Amazon Labor Union-International Brotherhood of Teamsters, or ALU-IBT, Local 1.
“I work for one of the richest men in the world and I’ve had to skip meals to make sure my kid eats and my bills get paid,” said Ebony Echevarria, one of the striking Skokie drivers. “That’s just not right.”
Amazon shares topped $2 trillion in market cap for the first time last month. Founder Jeff Bezos, who announced last year he was moving from Seattle to Miami, this week announced plans to sell $5 billion of stock in the company to bring his total windfall this year from the record-high stake divestment to $13.5 billion.
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